Issues In Cultural Competency

859 Words4 Pages
The following paper will inform the reader of a prevalent problem facing many social service agencies. While reflecting on my time spent at my current internship, it has become quite clear that cultural competence is an area that is need of fine tuning. The reader will be informed of issues in cultural competency as well as the possibilities of resolutions to this prevalent problem in society. In order to best serve victims of crime and maintain the health of an agency, “A culturally competent system of care acknowledges and incorporates--at all levels--the importance of culture, the assessment of cross-cultural relations ,the expansion of cultural knowledge, and the adaptation of services to meet culturally unique needs.” (Maylor 1988) Because…show more content…
The range of potential content areas that require culturally sensitive and culturally competent interventions is vast. They include addressing racial identity formation for people of color as well as for white people; the interrelationship among class, race, ethnicity, and gender; working with low-income families; working with older adults; the importance of religion and spirituality in the lives of clients; the development of gender identity and sexual orientation; immigration, acculturation, and assimilation stresses; biculturalism; working with people with disabilities; empowerment skills; community building; reaching out to new populations of color; and how to work with diverse…show more content…
They can value and celebrate differences in others rather than maintain an ethnocentric stance and can demonstrate comfort with differences between themselves and others. They have an awareness of personal and professional limitations that may warrant the referral of a client to another victim service provider or agency that can best meet the clients' needs. Self-awareness also helps in understanding the process of cultural identity formation and helps guard against stereotyping. As one develops the diversity within one’s own group, one can be more open to the diversity within other groups. Cultural competence also requires victim service providers to appreciate how workers need to move from cultural awareness to cultural sensitivity before achieving cultural competence, and to evaluate growth and development throughout these different levels of cultural competence in practice. Self-awareness becomes the basis for professional development and should be supported by supervision and agency administration. Agency administrators and public policy advocates also need to develop strategies to reduce their own biases and expand their
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